The Medical Center of the Americas will receive a substantial donation from a local businessman.

Jack Cardwell, owner of C&R Distributing, an El Paso fuel and lubricants distributor, has promised a large donation for the construction of a $28-million building, which will house the region's biomedical research and technology center.

In 2007 Cardwell, who started and operated Petro Truck Stops, a national chain of truck stops, sold the chain for $725 million to TravelCenters of America.

Noemi Rojas, spokesperson for the Medical Center of the Americas Foundation, said that Cardwell requested that the amount of his donation remain undisclosed to the media.

"We can say that it is in the millions," Rojas said. "It is the single largest donation that the MCA foundation has received at any one time from one private donor since its founding in 2006."

The donation will be paid in installments over several years, Rojas said.

Emma Schwartz, president of the foundation, said Cardwell's contribution was such a significant amount that the foundation decided to name the 83,000-square-foot building after him to thank him for his generosity.

This is not the first time Cardwell has made a donation. He also made a donation to the foundation when it started up in 2007, Schwartz said.

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"The dollar amount was quite generous and enough to deserve the naming of the building after him," Schwartz said. "But on top of that, Mr. Cardwell has a fantastic reputation in the community. We have a lot of respect for Mr. Cardwell and this is a way of thanking him for the trust he has in us, from the beginning, and now as we are maturing and realizing the vision we set out so many years ago we can acknowledge him."

Groundbreaking for the Cardwell Collaborative building is expected to begin in 2014 and is expected to be complete by 2015.

Funding for the building is being primarily paid for through a consortium of local banks, including West Star Bank, First National Bank and Bank of Texas.

Cardwell could not be reached for comment on Friday.

Once completed, the Cardwell Collaborative building, which will be located between Chelsea and Raynolds streets, will house offices and suites for the Biomedical Institute of the Americas, c ity of El Paso Public Health Laboratories, biomedical research for the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and private biomedical companies.

The Cardwell Collaborative building is just one of three or four buildings that will be at the center of what is envisioned as a biomedical research park, Rojas said.

Foundation officials said the research park at the 12-acre site that will help boost the economy and fuel jobs in the the biomedical field.

Prior to Cardwell's donation, the foundation's largest contribution came from the Hunt Family Foundation, which donated $650,000.

Other contributions include $1 million grant from the federal Economic Development Administration for the building's design and $3 million from the city of El Paso.

Officials with the foundation said they are still seeking donations to help pay for the building and the research park over the next two years.

Alex Hinojosa may be reached at ahinojosa@elpasotimes.com; 546-6137.

Reporter Vic Kolenc contributed to this report.

More information

The Medical Center of the Americas Foundation will continue to raise funds for the construction of the Biomedical Research Park.

To learn more about the foundation or to send a donation visit MCAmericas.org or contact the foundation at 613-2478 ext. 1.

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